Discoveries
by Aeon65
Summary: Is Horatio ready for one of his team to find out about his relationship with Speed? And what is the secret that Tim has been keeping? Read on to find out. Sequel to A Night Out. Read that first. SLASH: don't like, don't click. Reviews feed my muse.
1. Chapter 1

Rating T

Warning: This story is slash. If you don't like that then don't read it

Paring: Horatio/Speed

Disclaimer: DOA - Don't Own Anything

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Calliegh Duquesne strode purposefully down the hallway of the Miami-Dade crime lab with a smile on her face. She had just matched a bullet from a shooting victim to a gun found outside a potential suspects home. An IBIS hit on the bullet confirmed that the gun had been used in another unsolved homicide six months earlier. She was looking for Horatio to give him the good news.

She spotted him at the end of the hallway, by the windows, leaning up against the wall and talking on his cell phone. He had a smile on his face and seemed oblivious to everything around him. As she approached, she became aware that the phone call had nothing to do with work. Not wanting to intrude on a private moment, she slowed her pace, but her curiosity got the better of her. Listening to what he was saying, her smile widened.

"Yeah," Horatio said softly, "I miss you too." He listened for a moment and Calliegh swore she saw him blush, his smile turning into a soft chuckle. "So, what do you want to do for dinner tonight?" Again he listened. "Sounds great. By the way, if you stop at the store, I finished the orange juice this morning, and we need more milk." After a pause. "Okay, yeah, I should get back to work too. Love you," he said finally before flipping his phone shut.

Calliegh moved closer and cleared her throat, startling him slightly. He turned to face her, still smiling. "Ma'am," he said, still looking at his phone.

Calliegh couldn't wipe the smile off her face. "New lady friend?" she drawled.

He gave her a shy smile and ducked his head, neither confirming nor denying. "What have you got?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, yeah, we got a match on the gun. And an IBIS hit on the bullet. It matches an unsolved from about six months ago, in Miami Beach."

"Good work, Calliegh. Let's go see if trace or prints can put the gun in our suspects hand." He and Calliegh headed off together.

Over in the trace lab, Tim Speedle sat with his cell phone to his ear, having the other end of the same conversation. He and Horatio had discovered that they could have these intimate little moments at work simply by going to opposite ends of the building and talking on their cell phones.

Eric walked into the lab just as Speed was saying, "Love you too." His snort of laughter caused Speed to startle and he turned to face him, closing his phone.

Shaking his head, Eric said, "You got it bad, man. Hope she's worth it."

Speed pursed his lips. "You got a reason for being here," he said, mildly annoyed he'd let himself be heard, especially by Eric.

"Yeah, our suspects prints on the gun we found," Eric said smugly. He handed the file over to Speed.

A few moments later Calliegh and Horatio walked in. A glance passed between Horatio and Speed that went unnoticed by the other two CSI's.

"We got a match on the bullet," Calliegh said somewhat pleased with herself.

"Great," Eric replied. "I got our guy's prints on the gun."

"All right people," Horatio said rubbing his hands together. "There was an IBIS hit on the bullet from an unsolved six months ago. Let's see if we can tie these two together." He looked over at Calliegh. "Pull the file on the Miami Beach case and get to the morgue. See if there are any similarities between the victims. Eric, compare any print evidence between the two cases." Turning to Tim he said, "Speed, compare any trace. Let's nail this guy."

As Eric and Calliegh left, Horatio stepped close to Speed, entering his personal space, and whispered with a smirk, "Almost got caught just now. I think Calliegh heard my end of our conversation."

Speed laughed quietly, "Yeah, Eric caught the tail end of it from me too. We should really be more careful." Horatio smiled and rolled his eyes.

Calliegh stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lower level. As she headed to the morgue, she was thinking about Horatio. Some things were beginning to make sense to her now. He'd been moody. It seemed to start about four months ago and she had wondered why. Now she was pretty sure it was due to this new relationship of his. Teething problems, maybe. All of a sudden, last month, he seemed to perk up and become the old Horatio again. She suspected that it was then that he had probably turned some corner with this woman. It sounded like they were living together. She was happy for him.

She walked through the swinging door to the autopsy room where Alexx Woods was, with the body of their shooting victim. She must have still had the smile on her face as she entered because Alexx took one look at her and said, "Alright girl, spill it."

Calliegh tried to look innocent. Laying her southern accent on extra thick, she replied, "Why Alexx, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Alexx just stood there with her hands on her hips, waiting.

Calliegh shook her head. "Okay, fine." She move closer and lowered her voice. "I think Horatio has a new lady friend. And I think they're living together."

"And what makes you say that?" the other woman queried.

"Well, I overheard a phone conversation, if you must know," Calliegh said looking away, a bit embarrassed.

Shaking her head slowly, Alexx turned back to the body on her table. "Spying on Horatio. I don't believe you."

"Hey," Calliegh said defensively, "it was an accident. I swear."

Alexx just laughed at that and they began discussing the case. About fifteen minutes later Eric came into the room. "No print evidence from the Miami Beach case, I'm afraid. The body was found on the beach. And, sand is not a surface you can print," he said somewhat frustrated. "You got anything?"

Calliegh shook her head. "Not at present."

Eric sighed, "Let's go see Speed. Maybe he's found something."

As the two CSI's left the morgue, Alexx called after Calliegh. "No more spying, honey."

Calliegh rolled her eyes and Eric asked her, "What was that about?"

"Oh, nothing. I just overheard Horatio on the phone before. I think he has a new girlfriend."

Eric smiled. "Must be something in the air today. I caught Speed being all kissy-face on his cell earlier." They both shared a laugh. "I think he's been seeing her for the past few months but he refuses to tell me anything about her."

As Eric and Calliegh stepped into an elevator and the doors closed, Tim Speedle stepped out of another and walked to the autopsy room. He saw Alexx working on a body.

"Hey, Alexx. Have you seen Eric or Calliegh? I thought they'd be here."

"Sorry Timmy, they just left. Went looking for you, actually." Tim groaned. Alexx looked at him for a moment. "So tell me something, since we're alone," she asked quietly, "how are things going with this new guy of yours?"

Tim couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. "He moved in with me a couple of weeks ago."

Alexx raised an eyebrow. "So soon? You really that serious about him?"

Tim nodded. "We're happy, Alexx."

"Okay, honey. I just don't want to see you rushing into anything and getting hurt is all," she said with concern showing in her eyes. She recalled what he had been like in the months following David's death and couldn't stand the thought of him hurting like that ever again. She just hoped that this new guy wasn't taking advantage of him, moving in after only a few months.

"I'm a big boy, Alexx. Don't worry about me," he replied with a lopsided grin.

She smiled knowing that was an impossible request. "So when do I get to meet this wonderful guy who has you so happy?"

Tim shook his head. "I don't know, Alexx. He's really shy about things like that."

"I know, I know. You told me. He's a cop and he's afraid of what will happen if anyone else finds out. Tell me this, Timmy, do I know him?" Tim nodded. "Does he know me?" Again he nodded. Alexx studied him for a moment. "Then he should know that he can trust me."

Tim sighed. "Let me talk to him. I haven't actually brought it up to him yet." He smiled at her. "I gotta go find Calliegh and Eric. Talk to you later, Alexx."


	2. Chapter 2

They hadn't been able to find any physical evidence to tie their suspect to the homicide six months ago but, they had him on this one. Horatio was still talking with the DA when Tim left the lab. He arrived home first, even after stopping at the market to pick up what he needed to make dinner. As he set to his task, he thought about his conversation with Alexx. Things had moved rather quickly between himself and Horatio, but they had the advantage of having known each other for several years already. He figured Alexx would understand once she knew who his new lover was. That is, if Horatio agreed to the idea.

Ever since their little night out and talk a month ago, Horatio had undergone a transformation. He was much less shy in their relationship and less paranoid about being out in public. They would even go out to eat every now and then. Always some place small and out of the way, but it was a nice change. And he'd returned to his old self at work, too. Maybe the idea of coming out to Alexx wouldn't freak him out too much.

A half hour later Tim was stirring a sauce on the stovetop, lost in thought when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from the back. He felt lips on his neck and leaned back, resting his frame on Horatio.

"Welcome home," he said lazily. "I didn't hear you come in." He turned in Horatio's embraced and placed a kiss on his lips.

"You were in another world, I think," Horatio said smiling at him.

"Not a chance," Tim replied, kissing him again. "I like this one too much."

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Tim said, "Go get changed. Dinner's almost ready."

After dinner they decided to watch a movie. While Horatio filed through their newly combined DVD collection, Tim was trying to figure out the best way to bring up the whole Alexx thing. He finally decided to just go for it.

"Uh, Horatio?" he said somewhat hesitantly.

Horatio could tell by the tone of Tim's voice that something was up. He stopped his movie search, stepping over to the sofa to sit down. "What is it?"

Tim looked at his hands for a moment, then back up at Horatio. "I, um… I was wondering… how would you feel about, uh,… maybe,… having Alexx over for dinner?"

Horatio was silent, the expression on his face unreadable. He knew that eventually this would come up. Alexx and Tim were close and he knew that she knew about him. But he wasn't sure how ready he was. Truth be told, the idea scared him a little. He was only just now coming to terms with things himself.

"Horatio," Tim said quietly, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Horatio looked at him. "I, uh…" He closed his eyes for a moment. _Just be honest,_ he thought. "I, um… I don't know," he finally said.

Tim nodded and took Horatio's hand. "I know it's a difficult decision for you, and I know you're scared. But it's just Alexx."

Tim had this way of throwing him completely off balance. It was actually one of the things Horatio had come to love about him. But he had never allowed this part of his life to be known to anyone before, aside from the few male lovers he'd had, and more recently some of Tim's friends from the club. But that was different.

"What was it like?" he finally asked.

"What do you mean?"

"The first time someone found out about you? How did you deal with it?"

Tim cringed. "Bad example," was the only response he gave.

This didn't fill Horatio full of confidence. Tim hadn't talked much about his life before Miami. Horatio had heard stories from his college days, and some from his childhood, mostly from Jeff. But there was a gap of time that he simply didn't talk about.

"I didn't have the best experience back then. But Alexx was great," he said quickly, trying to change the subject. "She's been totally supportive and she's been bugging the crap out of me lately about meeting you."

After a few moments Horatio sighed. Secrets weren't good. Secrets had the potential to create problems, cause mistrust. He came to a decision. "I'll make you a deal." Tim looked at him. "We have Alexx over this weekend but you have to tell me about that part of your past that you've always refused to talk about. We can't have secrets from each other."

Now it was Tim's turn to hesitate. He knew he was asking a lot of Horatio with his request. He also knew it was reasonable for Horatio to ask for something in return. But this wasn't something he wanted to remember, much less have to talk about. The incident had sparked the beginning of his self-destructive period. As much as he loved Horatio and as much as he knew that Horatio loved him, he was afraid that knowing about this part of his life would change things between them.

He had been quiet for a while but Horatio simply waited. He could see that the decision was a difficult one for Tim. But he felt, no less so than the one Tim was asking of him. After a few more moments, Tim nodded. He couldn't do it right now. He needed to prepare himself mentally. "After we see Alexx, I'll tell you about it."

Tim had a restless night, that night. At one point he woke up with a start from a nightmare. Horatio tried to ask him about it but Tim just blew it off saying it was nothing. The next morning he headed down to the morgue hoping Alexx would be alone. He found her there talking to Calliegh.

He decided to interrupt them. "Hey Cal. Alexx, when you have a minute, I need to talk to you."

"Sure thing Timmy, what can I do for you?" Alexx asked.

Tim looked over at Calliegh then back to Alexx and said, "Actually, I need to talk to you alone."

"Well," Calliegh said, "that, I believe, is my cue." She turned to Alexx. "I'll be in ballistics." She noticed that Tim was dragging a bit this morning so as she passed him, she asked, "Everything okay?" He nodded.

Once Calliegh was out the door he moved closer to Alexx. "So," he started, "you doing anything this Saturday?"

It took a moment for his question to sink in. "He said yes?" she asked surprised.

"It took some convincing, but yes. We were thinking around 1pm. I'll throw something together for lunch."

"Timmy, you don't simply throw anything together when it comes to food. I'm looking forward to it." She looked at him a little more closely. "Are you sure you're okay, honey? You look tired."

"Didn't sleep so well last night. It's nothing. Just happens sometimes," he replied, not meeting her eyes.

Alexx wanted to say something more but just at that moment Eric walked in so all she said was, "Okay Tim, I'll see you later."


	3. Chapter 3

As Horatio approached the front door, he could smell the aromas of cooking. He shook his head. Tim was supposed to be resting, not up cooking his dinner. That wasn't why he had given him the day off. He was getting worried about him. The past few days he seemed to be withdrawing, barely sleeping, and having nightmares. When it started to affect his work, Horatio sent him home with orders to rest.

Once inside he walked into the kitchen not seeing Tim anywhere, but there was a large pot simmering on the stove so he couldn't be far. Horatio lifted the lid and found chicken soup bubbling away inside. It was then that he noticed Tim sitting out on the back deck with a beer in his hand staring off into space.

Horatio walked through the sliding glass door. "I thought you were supposed to be resting," Horatio said as he sat in one of the chairs next to Tim.

Tim sighed. "I couldn't sleep," was all he said in reply.

"Look, Tim," Horatio said softening his voice, "you've got to talk to me. You've barely slept these last three nights. When you do sleep, you have nightmares that you refuse to talk about. This can't go on."

Tim took a breath and just started talking. "When I was a kid, I was very close to my father. He owned a restaurant in Oceanside. I spent most of my free time with him. I practically grew up in that kitchen. He's the one who taught me to cook. I always figured that one day I would own the place, carry on the family business when my dad retired."

As he was talking he was staring off toward the water, not looking at Horatio. Horatio noticed that Tim seemed detached, almost like he was talking about someone else. He settled in and waited for him to continue.

"Most teenagers don't want to talk to their parents about sex. I'd never told my parents that I was gay. Partly because I was afraid they'd be disappointed with me, partly because I was embarrassed to talk to them about sex in general. I'd never had a girlfriend. In a way I'd hoped they would figure it out for themselves."

Tim paused to take a swig from his beer. It was then that Horatio noticed that this was not his first. There were a couple of empties on the ground next to him. He wasn't drunk but apparently he need something to give him the courage to talk about this. This worried Horatio slightly but he didn't interrupt.

"In June 1985, I was 17, just graduated from high school. I was seeing this guy who was a few years older than me, Justin. I met him in Greenwich Village, he was from Brooklyn. We made arrangements to meet this one afternoon that summer at David's Pot Belly on Christopher Street for lunch and to hang out. Later that evening he took me to his favorite bar. I was still underage but the drinking age in New York was 19 then and I looked old enough. Everyone there knew Justin so we didn't get proofed. That was my first time inside a gay bar.

At that point in my life, in that particular location, I felt completely free. I was around people who were the same as me. We spent the evening drinking, having fun. Sometime around 10pm the place got raided. The cops back then were cracking down not only on underage drinking but also on some of the gay bars in the area. AIDS was still mostly a gay disease and it was causing a lot of people to over react. Since they'd closed down all the bath houses, the police would come into the bars looking for people having sex or whatever. It was really stupid."

Horatio remembered those days. He'd been involved in some of those raids. It had bothered him back then. It bothered him more now. Tim finally turned to Horatio, knowing that he was a New York City cop in 1985. He gave him a lopsided smile. He must have seen the slightly guilty look on Horatio's face.

"Don't worry, I'm not blaming you," he said mater-of-factly. Horatio just shrugged his shoulders. He really didn't know what to say. It had never occurred to him that he and Tim could have met all those years ago under very different circumstances.

"Anyway, I got busted for underage drinking and lewd conduct. They caught me and Justin making out at one of the back tables. Because I was still technically a minor, no actual charges were filed but the police called my father." He stopped to drain beer.

"My dad had never so much as raised his voice to me or laid a hand on me growing up. If I did something wrong, he left it to my mom to deal with. He refused to talk to me all the way home. I tried to talk to him, his response was to backhand me in the face."

Horatio cringed. "I can see why you didn't want to talk about this," he said sympathetically.

Tim, shook his head. "No, I don't have a problem with this part. It just never came up before. I need to tell you this so you understand my frame of mind back then. I was afraid of him, for the first time in my life. I didn't know how to react. I felt like it was my fault he was so angry and I didn't know how to make it right."

"It wasn't your fault," Horatio started to say but Tim held his hand up and cut him off.

"I know that now," Tim said. "But, back then it hurt. He was becoming more and more hostile to me. Wouldn't let me near the restaurant. One night I'd had enough. I just packed a bag and left. Showed up at Justin's. He let me stay with him. But he turned out to not be what I though he was. He took advantage of the fact that I had no where else to go. He became abusive. And I became more and more depressed. I didn't see a way out so," he paused and took a deep breath. "So I started self-medicating."

This last part was said very quietly and Horatio realized that this was what Tim hadn't wanted him to know. "It started with alcohol, but soon that wasn't enough. Then pills, cocaine, pretty much anything I could get my hands on. Over the course of that year I wasted away to almost nothing." He looked down at himself. "I'm still so skinny," he said shaking his head. "I wanted to die, plain and simple. I though it was my only way out."

Horatio was still processing all this new information when he asked, "What turned you around?" Obviously something had, since Tim was sitting there, not a junkie.

"I almost got my wish," he said. "Jeff was home from college. He stopped by and found me passed out on the floor. He didn't realize how bad things had gotten. If it wasn't for him, I would have died. With my mother's help, after I got out of the hospital, he got me into rehab. I've been clean for 16 years."

Horatio was sitting facing Tim by this time, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He tipped his head up to look at Tim. "Why were you so afraid to tell me this?" Horatio needed to know. He needed to know that he could trust Tim to tell him the truth, especially when things were bothering him.

"A lot of reasons." He was quiet for a few moments. "Mostly, I was afraid of what you'd think of me." Horatio was about to say something, but Tim spoke before he had a chance. "Before you say it, this is different than your situation. I did this to myself. I had no one else to blame but me."

"Tim, the circumstances…" Horatio started to say, but again he was cut off.

"You know what really scares me?" Horatio shook his head. "When David died, it all came back. The depression, the same feelings, the same urges." He shook his head. "I guess it's true what they say, 'once an addict, always an addict'."

Knowing what the difference was that time Horatio said, "Yeah, but that time you had friends. You weren't alone. And I suppose that's when Alexx adopted you."

That earned him a snort of laughter from Tim. "Yeah, she did sorta, didn't she? She and Jeff were the ones who kept me sane."

Horatio moved from his chair and knelt down in front of Tim, placing his hands on the younger man's knees. "We all go through things in our lives. Some worse than others. Those of us who come through the other side alive and well, we're stronger for it. You're a good man, Tim. Don't ever doubt that."

Tim looked him in the eye and nodded. He was suddenly exhausted. "I'm tired, Horatio," he said as he closed his eyes and let his head fall back onto the chair.

"Have you eaten anything, today?" Tim shook his head. "Okay then. Let's have dinner, then you sleep."

Tim didn't resist when Horatio stood up and pulled him to his feet. The beer bottle left forgotten at the side of the chair. He pulled Tim into his arms and they just held each other.

"Thanks," Tim said quietly.

"For what?" Horatio replied.

Tim shrugged. "Everything."

Horatio chuckled and pulled away far enough to place a kiss on Tim's lips. "Your welcome. Now come on. If you're dead on your feet when Alexx comes over tomorrow, she will have my hide."

After dinner Horatio sent Tim to bed then set about cleaning up the kitchen. He still had some questions but nothing that couldn't wait until the other man finally had some sleep. He finished up and headed into the bedroom to check on Tim. He found him passed out on the bed, on top of the sheets, fully clothed, shoes and all. Horatio sighed and rolled his eyes then started undressing him.


	4. Chapter 4

Tim awoke the next morning a little disoriented. He didn't remember undressing last night. For that matter, he didn't remember going to bed. He disentangled himself from Horatio, who was spooned up behind him, and sat up. The first thing that he noticed was that his clothes were neatly folded on the chair at the other side of the room. It was then that he realized that he must have passed out from exhaustion last night and Horatio must have undressed him. Tim wasn't that neat.

He looked over at Horatio, lying there sound asleep, wondering how he had gotten so lucky. He leaned over and placed a kiss on the other man's cheek before getting up and heading for the shower. He realized that he was feeling pretty good. He hadn't felt this good in a few days.

After he showered, he headed off to the kitchen feeling like he owed Horatio something special for breakfast for putting up with him the past few days. He decided on banana bread. Twenty minutes later Horatio walked into the kitchen.

"Whatever you're doing, it smells wonderful," he said sincerely. Tim laughed. Horatio smile. "Now that's a sound that's good to hear again," he said pulling Tim away from the stove and into his arms. "I take it you're feeling better."

Tim answered him with a kiss. "So that's a yes?"

Tim nodded. Horatio pulled back enough to look him in the eye. "We still need to talk, you know."

Tim sighed. "I know. And I'm sorry I didn't trust you or what we have enough to just come out and tell you." He moved away from Horatio and sat down at the kitchen table. Horatio followed and sat across from him. "I was scared. It was stupid of me."

"Tim, if this is going to work, we can't have secrets from each other. We already have too many secrets from the rest of the world." Horatio reached for Tim's hand. "Do you understand?"

Tim nodded but Horatio wasn't completely convinced. He stood up. "Come here," he said holding his hand out to Tim. Tim stood and took Horatio's hand. They stood facing each other, Tim not meeting Horatio's eyes. "Look at me for a second," Horatio said and Tim looked up at him. "Do you remember the first night we were together?" He saw by the slight blush that ran up Tim's neck that he did. "I was afraid that night,… because of everything that had happened to me when I was younger, that you wouldn't respect me anymore. That you wouldn't be able to love me." He took a breath. "You said something to me that night that made a difference. I'm going to throw it back at you right now. Everything that has happened to you in your life, good or bad, has made you the man you are today." He paused and leaned in for a kiss. After a moment he pulled away. "And that man is the man I love."

Tim's emotions were running high by this point and he didn't trust his voice. So he responded by assaulting Horatio's mouth. Horatio responded, pushing Tim back against the refrigerator door, each man dueling with the other for control. After a few minutes they had to come up for air. Resting their foreheads together each of them tried to get his breathing under control when they heard a beeping sound.

Tim let out a snort of laughter and turned to take the bread out of the oven. Horatio caught him before he could get far and pulled him back into his arms. "No more secrets, okay?"

"Promise, now let me take the bread out of the oven before it burns," he said giving Horatio a smile.

As Tim set the pan on top of the oven to cool, Horatio looked at his watch. "What time is Alex coming over?"

"Around one," Tim said tipping the pan onto the cooling rack.

"So, we uh,… have some time?" Horatio had a hint of mischief in his voice that got Tim's attention.

He turned seeing the glint in Horatio's eyes. "Yeah, we got time." Horatio grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the bedroom.

At 12:30 Tim was in the kitchen finishing up with preparing lunch. Horatio was sitting at the table tapping his fingers. It was starting to get on Tim's nerves. He could tell Horatio was nervous. Finally Horatio got up and started wandering around the living room for what Tim figured was the hundredth time.

"Would you just relax, please. You're making me dizzy," Tim finally said.

Horatio gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry, I guess I'm just anxious."

"Well there's no need to be. It's just Alexx," Tim said looking over his shoulder.

Horatio took a deep breath trying to calm himself. He wandered over to the shelf where Tim had his pictures and the graduation picture caught his eye again. A thought struck him. He looked over at Tim in the kitchen. "You know, I had always assumed that this was a picture from your college graduation. But it isn't, is it?"

Tim came out of the kitchen to see what Horatio was talking about. He smiled. "High school," he said. "That was the last thing we did as a family." He took the picture from Horatio. "This is what I want to remember of him. Not what he became." Horatio nodded in understanding.

They heard a knock at the front door. Suddenly Horatio looked panicked. "Oh, God," he breathed.

Tim took his face in his hands and kissed him. "Just relax."

As Tim went to open the door, Horatio stepped back toward the kitchen. Tim greeted Alexx at the door with a hug.

"Hey, Timmy. I know I'm a bit early but I couldn't wait any longer," she said with a smile. As she entered the room she caught sight of Horatio by the kitchen. He smiled at her. Confused, she whispered to Tim, "I thought your boyfriend didn't want anyone else around. What's Horatio doing here?"

Tim's smile broadened. For someone who was so perceptive ninety-nine percent of the time, he couldn't believe Alexx didn't figure it out. He reached his hand out to Horatio who took it and moved to his side. Tim snaked his arm around Horatio's waist.

Alexx's eyes went wide as the realization dawned on her. "Horatio," she said with surprise. Tim nodded with an amused look on his face. "You and… Horatio," she said in disbelief. Then she laughed. "Well you boys can sure keep a secret." She pulled Horatio into a fierce hug that took him by surprise for a moment but he quickly relaxed and returned the gesture. "I'm happy for both of you, truly."

They ended up spending the whole rest of the day with Alexx. Tim made them dinner as well as lunch. Later that night as they got ready bed, Tim said, "So, that wasn't so bad was it?"

Horatio pulled Tim into his arms. "Thanks,… thanks for making me go through with that."

Tim kissed him. "No problem. So, you ready to tell everyone else at the lab?" Tim joked.

Horatio laughed. "Not on your life, pal."


End file.
